


Neo's Backstory

by linaxtic



Category: RWBY
Genre: Backstory, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-01
Updated: 2016-06-01
Packaged: 2018-07-11 14:28:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7056325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/linaxtic/pseuds/linaxtic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Does anyone know why she doesn't speak?"</p>
<p>This is a little story that's my take on how Neo became mute and is also a little of her backstory with Roman. I'll try to add on to this later, but I wanted to get what I had up. Also I couldn't think of a clever title.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Neo's Backstory

It was supposed to have been a job just like any other--find the competition, infiltrate their ranks, and end them. She’d always been good at that. She could be anything that they wanted her to be. Anything at all. But it had all gone so wrong so fast. They’d found her out, cornered her, and despite all of her best efforts to escape, they’d caught her. She’d fought back, of course, but it hadn’t been enough. She couldn’t remember where the knife had come from or even who had been holding it. All she could remember was trying to backflip out of the way, but someone catching her from behind, and the flash of the knife as she moved. She could remember the pain as it caught her throat and sliced through flesh, the warmth of her blood dripping down her neck and staining her coat. Her hand flew to cover the wound as she stumbled away from the men, just managing to teleport away before collapsing on the ground. She didn’t know where she was, her vision fading as a voice called her name.

Faint, rhythmic beeps pinged at her subconscious, pulling her back to the land of the living. The sounds grew louder as she struggled to open her eyes. Everything was blurred into one dim shade of white for the first few moments. The room she was in was dimly lit, she could tell that much. There were faint voices, as if they were speaking in some other room, behind closed doors. Slowly, her vision cleared, and a hospital room swam into view in front of her. There was something just in the corner of her vision and she saw a young man slumped over, asleep in the chair by her bed. 

Then the memories came flooding back to her and her hand flew to her throat, finding bandages wrapped around her neck. How...how had she survived?

“You’re awake,” came the tired but relieved voice from her side and she turned her head to look at his green eye, its pair covered by a curtain of orange hair. She opened her mouth to speak, to ask him what had happened...but no words came out. Nothing but a choked, strangled sounding noise that horrified her more than finding the bandages had. “Don’t try to talk,” he said, standing and moving closer, gently putting a hand on her arm. She looked panicked, looking around her, and finally spotted a notepad and pen on the bedside table. She picked them up and wrote, showing him:

_ What happened? _

“I’m not entirely sure. I’m gonna guess that job of yours went south. Cause all I know is you showed up on my apartment floor with blood all over you. When I realized it was your blood, I got you to the hospital.”

_ What about Dante? _

He looked at her writing, then shook his head. “Haven’t heard from him. I called him once I got you here, left a message, told him you were hurt--” His voice trailed off as she dropped the pen and paper, burying her face in her hands. “Hey, hey. It’s gonna be fine. Doc said you’re gonna be alright. Might not be able to talk but, otherwise…” He watched her write again.

_ He won’t keep me around if I’m not useful. _

“Hey, if he tosses you out cause of this, he’s nuts. You’re incredible at what you do, Neo. Your semblance, your skills...those aren’t gonna go away just cause you lost your voice.” He gave her a small smile. “And if he cuts you loose because of this, then he’s gonna lose me, too.” She looked up at him in shock, her lips mouthing  _ Roman, no _ before he put his hand on her shoulder. “This wasn’t your fault, and I’m not about to leave you alone.”

Her face screwed up as tears stung her eyes and she wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest before letting herself cry. She knew she had only ever been as good as her skills. She’d been an assassin. She’d been good at charming and tempting her prey, ending their lives the moment they least expected it. And now, she knew, not only was all that over, but she was in danger. She knew too much about her boss for him to just let her go.

“Shhh...I won’t let anyone hurt you. I promise. You’re gonna be just fine.” He tipped her chin up so she was looking into his green eye. “Anyone who wants to hurt you is gonna have to go through me. You hear me?” Sniffling, the action making her tender throat sting slightly, she slowly nodded her head, eyes fluttering shut as Roman’s thumbs gently wiped the tears from her cheeks.


End file.
